Ready to start planning for your retirement? Even if you are only just in your twenties or thirties, this is certainly something that should be on your mind in order for you to put aside plenty of money for a comfortable retirement.

Think saving for retirement is as simple as paying into a pension and making a few other key investments? If only it were that easy! There are actually a few pitfalls that many young people fall into when planning for their later years, and it is incredibly important that you try not to get stuck in these yourself. You will certainly manage that as long as you try to avoid these very common mistakes!

Getting Organized Straight Away

One of the most important things about saving for retirement is that you need to start as soon as you start earning. The longer you leave things, the smaller your retirement pot of cash will be by the time you leave work. So, don’t make the mistake of continually putting this off or else you will get a nasty surprise when you retire! It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford to save a huge amount each month – every little helps!

Forgetting About Property

Lots of people put some of their retirement cash into savings, such as stocks and shares. However, it’s also necessary to consider investing in property as well. This is a very safe investment as there isn’t too much chance of the value of your property fluctuating. There are various ways you can use property to boost your retirement savings. First of all, you could sell your house once you hit retirement age for a nice lump sum. Or, you might want to get a second property to rent out for a steady income that can be put towards your savings.

Relying On Your Credit Card

So, you’ve got a credit card which makes it a little easier for you to get to the end of the month and your next paycheck. But do you think you rely on your credit card a little too much? If you do, it’s time to ease back from using it. If you don’t, you might find that your retirement savings suffer. That’s because, you will have to focus on paying back your credit card debt rather than on your retirement savings. And, as a result, you won’t have quite as much to add to your retirement pot.

Raiding Your Savings

One of the worst things you can do is raid your retirement savings. Ideally, you should set up an extra pot of savings that you aren’t keeping for your retirement – these are there for you to raid whenever you see fit. If you do need to use some savings and only have your retirement ones, you should see if you can get money from elsewhere. Perhaps a family member would be able to help you out? Or, if possible, why not take on some overtime at work? Anything other than raiding your savings!